


Five Times Arthur Doesn't Notice Eames Call Him Darling (And One Time He Does)

by MrMich



Category: Inception (2010)
Genre: 5 Times, M/M, Oblivious Arthur
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-04
Updated: 2015-06-04
Packaged: 2018-04-02 22:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4075948
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MrMich/pseuds/MrMich
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Arthur is one of the most oblivious people alive. Eames really has his work cut out for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Five Times Arthur Doesn't Notice Eames Call Him Darling (And One Time He Does)

1.)       The first time they met was a disaster. Mostly because Eames was shooting at Arthur and Arthur was shooting right back. Arthur made an executive decision and snuck away under his teammate’s cover to come up behind Eames. Arthur was about to go in for the kill when Eames suddenly whipped around and emptied his gun into Arthur’s chest. As Arthur was bleeding out on the ground, Eames said, “It’s a damn shame you weren’t on my team, Darling.”

 

2.)      The second time they met, it wasn't much better. In fact, the only difference was that they weren’t in a dream. Arthur was hired as security by a wealthy family to protect a valuable painting they had bragged too loudly about, and Eames, quite naturally, was trying to steal it. Eames knew more than a few ways to access the painting, but each route he tried was inevitably blocked by Arthur. There were some close calls, and he was forced to admit defeat when it was only by the skin of his teeth and some quick maneuvering that allowed him to continue on without a bullet lodged in his thigh. Calling back to Arthur as he made his escape, he drawled, “While this was a lovely time, Darling, I must be on my way!”

 

3.)      The third time, at least, they were on the same side. They were hired by an extractor named Brendan to pry company secrets out of Devan Ryer, the CEO of a prestigious law firm, and the job should have been easy. “Fuck it all!” Arthur gasped as he and Eames ran from the very heavily armed men chasing them. Their architect had turned on them and sabotaged the job before they could get any useful information, and Brendan had been shot out of the dream fairly quickly after things had gone to hell, leaving them the only two of the team left. They darted around a corner and immediately hit a dead end. As they heard footsteps nearing the corner, Eames leaned in close to Arthur and whispered in his ear, “This wasn’t your fault, Dar-” as a bullet found each of their brains.

 

4.)      The fourth time was a lot more calm than the previous three. This may have been due to the fact that neither Arthur nor Eames was being shot at, or shooting at the other. Instead, they were going on a coffee run together for the team. It was a Wednesday, and would have been Ariadne’s turn, but Arthur had lost a bet and Eames had decided to tag along. Arthur ordered the drinks and paid, then chatted idly with the barista while she filled the order. When she finished, Arthur took the cups from her and turned around, bumping slightly into Eames, who had been standing directly behind him. “Sorry, Darling. Did anything spill?” Arthur barely glanced at Eames, more concentrated on keeping the liquid in the cups. “No. Nothing spilled.”

 

5.)      The fifth time, Arthur wasn’t even awake. The most recent job hadn’t been as difficult as inception, but it had left everyone completely exhausted. Yusuf, Ariadne, and Arthur were asleep on their desks, while Cobb and Eames were more than willing to follow the lead of their teammates. Soon enough they were all sleeping soundly, except for Eames. Eames forced himself to stay awake, as he had a flight back to London in a few hours. He gathered his belongings and was about to leave when he made a quick decision. He stopped by Arthur’s desk and scribbled a small note before folding it and slipping it slightly underneath Arthur’s hand. He then leaned down and brushed his lips against Arthur’s temple. “Sleep well, Darling.” He straightened up and continued on his way, but paused at the door to glance back for a second, before he continued on his way to the airport.

 

+1.)      Arthur woke up slowly, and eventually became aware enough to remember that he had fallen asleep right after their last job. He started to rise from the desk when he felt a paper crinkling under his palm, which he immediately recognized as out of place. He unfolded it and read it before going completely still.

_Hello, Arthur. Unfortunately, I am unable to tell you this in person, but I have a direct flight to London, and I really must get going. I would have thought by now that you’d have taken a hint, but it seems that you’re as clueless as ever, Darling. I’m going to be in Munich in three days, at a local café named Lava at ten in the morning. I’d love it if you joined me there for a date. -Eames._

Arthur glanced to where Ariadne was waking up, and as soon as she saw him still holding the note, she grinned lazily. “Finally asked you out officially, huh?”

Arthur just looked at her. “What do you mean, ‘finally’?” he asked.

She snorted. “Come on, Arthur. You can’t seriously tell me that you didn’t see this coming. He’s been blatantly hitting on you for months! At least for however long I’ve know you two.” She then looked at him. “Wait - you didn’t know? You really didn’t know? For God’s sake, Arthur, the man calls you ‘Darling’ every chance he gets.” Arthur felt his cheeks color a little. Ariadne sighed. “Damnit. Why do you have to be so oblivious? I owe Cobb a hundred bucks now.”

Arthur looked at the note again and made a decision. He quickly bid goodbye to Ariadne and gathered up his belongings.

Three days later he walked into a small café in Munich.


End file.
